'Truth about Coca Cola' on Facebook: It's a scam

The "truth" about a new Facebook campaign purporting to reveal the "truth" about Coca Cola is this: it's a scam designed to pinch your personal information.

The digital security firm Sophos exposed the scam, which begins with the following message making the rounds on Facebook: "I am part of the 98.0% of people that are NEVER gonna drink Coca Cola again after this HORRIFIC video. Find out the TRUTH about Coke!!!"

Clicking on the video link takes you to a Web site claiming that "9/10 People said they WOULDNT drink Coca Cola After seeing this video!!!" above a video still that says "Coca Cola can't hide its crimes."
But before you're allowed to watch the earth-shattering video, you're forced to share the link on Facebook seven times. But the counter keeping track of how many people you share the bogus link with doesn't work, which will undoubtedly tempt you to click on the following link instead: "Cant Be Bothered To Wait? --> Click Here To Skip This."

Clicking on the link takes you to a survey requesting your personal information. The folks at Coke didn't immediately respond to a request to comment on the scam.

"We are aware of the Facebook postings, which are simply a part of a scam intended to extract personal information from users. The Coca-Cola Company has no connection to the postings, and there is no video, as the messages suggest. We have contacted Facebook about the matter. We encourage Facebook users not to click on that link."

Facebook scams are nothing new, and often involve phony gift cards to popular retailers, including Ikea.

Ignore or delete this e-mail, even if it was sent to you by one of your Facebook friends -- and never give out your personal information to anyone unless you know exactly who is asking and why.